It’s straight out of Superman – the power to peer through flesh and watch bones move in three dimensions. That’s the X-ray imaging system Brown University scientists are making – and with it, a new class of medical and scientific imaging. The W.M. Keck Foundation is supporting the groundbreaking project.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown
University researchers are creating a technology that will allow doctors and
scientists to do the seemingly impossible: See inside living humans and animals and watch
their bones move in 3-D as they run, fly, jump, swim and slither.

This high-resolution, high-speed imaging system will contribute
to better treatments for knee, shoulder, wrist and back injuries and help
scientists understand the evolution of complex movements, from the flight of
birds to the leap of frogs.

“This will be like having X-ray vision –
you’ll be able to see through skin and muscle and watch a skeleton move in
3-D,” said Elizabeth Brainerd, the Brown University biology professor
overseeing development of the new system. “Imagine animated X-ray movies
of flying bats or flexing knees. It’s very cool technology that is also
very important from a biomedical standpoint.”

Gator Gait
Brown researchers are pioneering a method for 3-D high-speed imaging of bone and joint movement. Currently they create single-beam X-ray visualizations, such as this image of an alligator, which must be aligned by hand. A new dual X-ray facility will speed up this process significantly and make images more accurate.Image: David BaierView animations

The system will be designed and built with a $1.8-million grant
from the W.M. Keck Foundation, one of the nation’s largest philanthropic
organizations and a major supporter of pioneering discoveries in science,
engineering and medical research.

The system will fill a void in medical and scientific imaging.
Right now, researchers trying to understand the complex motions of bones and
joints are held back by technology. Computed tomography, or CT, delivers
detailed 3-D images, but CT scanners are too slow to capture rapid motion.
Cinefluoroscopy, a technique that uses X-rays to view objects, can produce
moving images in two dimensions, but not 3-D.

An orthopedic surgeon trying to figure out the best way to
repair a torn knee ligament or an evolutionary biologist tracing the
disappearance of digits in pigs would face a difficult task. To see the exact
position and movement of bones and the ligaments, tendons and cartilage that
surround them, would require cutting into flesh – not a desirable option.

The new system, dubbed CTX, will combine the 3-D capability of
CT scanners and the real-time movement tracking of cinefluoroscopy. CTX
technology is expected to deliver images with exceptional precision and detail.
Researchers will be able to track 3-D skeletal movements with
0.1 millimeter accuracy and see the equivalent of 1,000 CT images per
second.

The result will be a powerful tool with applications for basic
and applied research:

testing new theories of biomechanics, such as muscle-tendon
interactions;

studying the evolution of bodies and how they move, such as birds’
multijointed wings;

planning orthopedic surgeries and comparing the effectiveness of different
approaches;

creating better treatments for shoulder, wrist, knee and back injuries;

The project cuts across disciplines and brings together a
diverse team of Brown researchers. They include bioengineer Joseph Crisco,
computer scientist David Laidlaw, orthopedic experts Braden Fleming and Douglas
Moore, and biologists Stephen Gatesy, Thomas Roberts and Sharon Swartz.
Brainerd, a professor of medical science in Brown’s Department of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology, leads the team.

The grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, paired with matching
funds from Brown, will pay for the X-ray machines, treadmills and other
equipment for a new CTX facility on campus. But creating the imaging technology
will be a mainly computational challenge, so funding will also support
substantial software development.

Brown faculty and students are already at work on pilot projects
to visualize pigs walking, birds flying and frogs jumping, using seed funds from
Brown’s Office of the Vice President for Research and the National Science
Foundation. Software will be rolled out in phases, Brainerd said, with a
complete system available by 2010.

The project builds on orthopedic imaging work at Henry Ford
Hospital in Detroit and on original research in skeletal imaging at Brown,
including a trailblazing technique developed by Gatesy that uses animation
software to combine CT scanner data with X-ray images. Images created using this
technique – the forerunner of CTX – can be viewed at
http://brown.edu/ctx/

Based in Los Angeles, the W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W. M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The Foundation’s grant-making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science and engineering. The Foundation also maintains a program to support undergraduate science and humanities education and a Southern California Grant Program that provides support in the areas of health care, civic and community services, education and the arts, with a special emphasis on children.

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